A Twist in My Story
by S.M.Hoffman
Summary: After giving up his life as Ripper, Giles seizes the chance to live a normal life and doesn't return to the Council. But years later when he meets first grade teacher Buffy Summers, he wonders if it's possible to really escape Destiny. AU
1. Dog Days are Over

**A/N- **Okay, so I decided to start another BtVS fic while working on Family Portrait. I'm actually looking forward to working on this one, let's just hope this turns out as good as I think it will. And yes, I decided to mess around with the years and make Giles younger just so it will fit with how I have this fic planned out. So please bear with me on the messing with years/ages. This is a B/G fic, even if it doesn't seem like it in this chaper.

**Summary- **After giving up his life as Ripper, Giles seizes the chance to live a normal life and doesn't return to the Council. But years later when he meets first grade teacher Buffy Summers, he wonders if it's possible to really escape Destiny.

**Disclaimer- **I own nothing. All things related to BtVS belong to Joss and M.E. I'm just borrowing the characters for entertainment...although I'm not happy about having to return Giles -pouts-

* * *

**A Twist in My Story**

**Dog Days are Over**

_London 1985_

Upon reaching the grand front door, the 24 year old realized how much at risk he was to a vampire attack; walking through the area alone and covered in blood, with no means of protecting himself, was enough to get the attention of any nearby vampire. But it wasn't as if he could make this journey during the day. The sight of a young man, who had clearly seen better days, wearing torn clothing covered in blood and dirt would only serve to raise questions, questions that he couldn't answer.

Bruised knuckles hit the wooden door while his other arm wrapped around his torso, almost positive that he had a few broken ribs. The young man leaned next to the door as he fought off a violent wave of dizziness and struggled to keep from blacking out. Again. A groan sounded as the door opened to spill light on his face, an older woman appearing in the doorway.

"Rupert?" she whispered, her eyes taking in his broken appearance. "Is that you?"

"No, Mum…it's your…other son…" even talking was a struggle for him.

Before anything was said, Rupert Giles took one step forward and fell into his parents' home. He was aware of his mother trying to catch him but was too far-gone to break his own fall.

"Robert!" the sound of his mother's voice and rushing footfalls surrounded him as he blacked out finally.

* * *

There was a dull ache in his head and pain coming from various areas of his body, but the feel of a mattress under him was the only thing that registered. Rupert slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room, his green eyes landing on his mother in the chair near the bed.

"Why am I in the spare room?" were the first words that left his lips as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Your father and I redecorated a year ago," was all his mother offered, the rest of the explanation left unsaid.

Rupert's fingers absently traced the small track marks on his inner right elbow, avoiding eye contact with his mother. He had no desire to relive the pass three years of his life, least of all to his mother. If any one of his parents were to be told the truth, it was going to be his father since Rupert had already disappointed him.

"I won't ask you what happened or what you've been up to," the silence was broken by his mother's voice, her gaze alternating between the track marks under his restless fingers and the tattoo above the crook of his left elbow. "That honor belongs to your father. But I will ask if you're done with all your withdrawals."

"Yes," he muttered as he slowly, and painfully, settled back under the covers. "I'm gonna sleep off this bloody pain I'm in."

Rolling so his back was facing his mother, he simply stared at the wall in front of him until he heard the door behind him close. Heaving a sigh, much to the protest of his ribs, Rupert rolled on to his back in order to alleviate some of the pain he was in. He had no desire to sleep for fear of reliving some of the more horrifying memories, nor the desire to get up due to the chance of having to actually talk with his parents.

So instead, the 24 year old just lay in the guest bed while trying to forget the self-destructive Hell he had been in.

* * *

Weeks had gone by since he had shown up on his parents' doorstep, and within that time he had made a slow recovery from his injuries. After the first week, Rupert had told his father what he had been through; the criminal activities, the sex, the drugs and the dark magicks. The only thing that seemed to further disappoint his father was the addiction to magicks Rupert had developed, as well as the reckless demon raising that had led him to take on the mark of Eyghon. After agreeing to meet with certain members of the Watcher's Council to ensure he wouldn't revert back to his reckless behavior, Rupert found himself enrolled back in Oxford to continue his education.

If it had been up to him at all, Rupert wouldn't even meet with the Watchers. But seeing as how he had made it clear he had no intentions of joining ranks with the Council again, the daily rehabilitation meetings were required if the Council was going to help Rupert pick up where he left off on his History degree. The meetings turned into two hours of Rupert being put through forced lessons on the occult and supernatural, being lectured for his choices and proving he was well in control of his magical abilities. But it was a price he was willing to pay for a future of his own.

"You're working too hard, Rupert."

His head snapped up just as his father walked into the study before he went back to the texts in front of him.

"I have to keep busy," his attention stayed focused on the Sumerian texts he was translating.

"By doing exactly what you ran away from?" his father remarked, pulling the ancient volume away from his son.

"It's better than having to remember," Rupert answered, leaning back in the chair as he ran a hand through his hair. "And besides, I might as well make use of the skills I learned. They could come in handy one day,"

His father raised an eyebrow.

"Plus I've finished with my schoolwork," the 24 year old added as he absentmindedly doodled on a piece of paper. "I was thinking about travelling once I finished getting my degree."

"Why?"

"To figure out exactly who I am," Rupert looked at his father, fully prepared to fight off any protests. "I've either been Rupert the future Watcher, Ripper or Rupert the disappointment. I need to know how to be just Rupert,"

Silence fell over the two as he watched his father take in what he had just said. If his father objected to idea of Rupert travelling, he didn't show it. Instead, he walked around the desk and leaned against the edge as he looked at his son.

"You've never disappointed me, Ru. Frustrated, yes, but never disappointed." The sincerity of the statement shone in his father's dark green eyes. "And you do whatever you feel you have to, but just know you will never be 'just Rupert'."

"What do you mean?"

"You were destined to be a Watcher, and that will always be who are. No matter where you go and no matter how normal your life is, your past will find you." The older man looked his son in the eye, wanting to make his point clear. "You can't run away from Destiny, Rupert. In one way or another, it will catch up with you."

The young man just stared at his father for a few minutes before he stood up, nearly eye-to-eye with his father.

"I won't let that happen, Dad." He swore. "I'll be damned if I let my so-called 'Destiny' rule my life. That's why I left the Council, so I can be my own person."

"I wasn't trying to get you to come back. I was merely warning you to prepare for the day when your Calling finds you,"

With those last words, the older Giles left the room and Rupert found himself alone in the study. His green eyes fell on the ancient text and what he had translated as he thought over his father's words.

"Destiny can find me," he whispered as sat back down, continuing his little doodle. "But it can't have me."

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**A/N- **So what do you think so far? Yay? Nay? Let me know in the form a review


	2. Little Wonders

**A/N- **So I just had to update this one first since I was almost done with this chapter before my laptop drama happened. All I'm gonna say is is that I'm so glad nothing was lost. Enjoy

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**Little Wonders**

"Daddy, wake up!" the constant tug on his sleeve woke Rupert Giles but he kept his eyes closed. "It's time to wake up!"

"Daddy! We'll miss cartoons!"

It was the second voice that made Rupert open his eyes, a smile forming when his children's faces greeted him. His son, Nathan Oliver, gave him a huge grin that showed off his missing upper right tooth while his daughter, Addison Claire, threw her arms around his neck. The six year old boy had decided a few months ago that he was too big to jump on his father's bed every Saturday morning, but his four year old sister told him that she was little enough to jump on the bed.

"Too early." Rupert yawned, both arms going around his children nonetheless. "Go downstairs, I'll be down soon enough."

After the expected cheers from the two, the siblings ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs as they were told. Nathan plopped on the right side of the couch, claiming his spot, and Addison jumped on to the left side before handing her older brother the television remote. Nathan quickly turned on the television to the proper channel, both children giggling just as a Bugs Bunny cartoon began.

Within minutes, Rupert sat in the middle of the couch and looked at his children. Nathan's light brown hair was still mused from sleep and his pajama shirt was probably somewhere balled up in his bedroom, his bright green eyes glued to the screen. Addison's dark hair had somehow managed to avoid looking tangled and her dark green eyes were just as focused on the television as her brother's, her tiny hands playing with the hem of her pajama shirt. Knowing how he looked- dark brown hair just as mused as his son's and his pajamas, a pair of black silk boxers and a white shirt, wrinkled from sleep- Rupert let a small chuckle out. The three of them were something else.

At the age of 41, Rupert found himself a single father to two children with an ex-wife who wanted nothing to do with any of them; not that they took notice. After the divorce had been settled, Rupert had moved out of England and to a small Texas town with his then three year old son and one year old daughter. Within six months, he had opened a small bookshop nearby his house and by the end of that year Rupert owned the most successful bookshop in Spring (with the exception of _Barnes and Noble _and _Borders_). This wasn't exactly the life he imagined himself having when he left the Watcher's Council all those years ago, but he wouldn't give it up for anything.

"Still hurt?" his daughter's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, his gaze directed to her index finger gently poking the hollow of his right elbow.

"Um...no, sweetheart. It's doesn't hurt." He assured her, cursing the physical reminders of his misguided rebellion not for the first time.

Nathan had always been fascinated by the mark of Eyghon, which was much simpler to explain than the marks Addison was fascinated by. Of all the marks- the tattoo and the scars- that he had received during his rebellion days, the track marks were what he regretted the most. Of all the drugs he had tried during his stint as Ripper, shooting heroin was his biggest mistake; although he had called it quits, with some difficulty, after using the stuff for six months but, clearly, the damage had been done.

"Nathan, get that out of your mouth." Rupert's attention went to the six year old, who was mindlessly chewing on the corner of the remote. "If you're hungry, I'll make you breakfast."

"Me!" Addison said, raising her hand at the mention of breakfast. "I'm hungry, Daddy."

A gurgling noise sounded from Nathan's stomach, causing the two siblings to laugh.

"Nafan's tummy hungry too," the little girl giggled, falling into her father's lap.

"I want waffles!" Nathan exclaimed as Rupert stood up. "With choclik chips!"

"Nathan, you don't order people about. Besides, I'm not making waffles this morning." He had to suppress the urge to grin at the defiant look his son gave him, his arms crossed over his chest as he did his best 'Daddy Glare'. "You're getting cereal,"

"Waffles!" the boy demanded, rubbing his little stomach. "Please, Daddy?"

"Wif choclik chips?" Addison added, looking at Rupert with wide eyes as she stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.

Without saying a word, Rupert picked up Addison and walked into the kitchen. He put her down on the island countertop before getting the toaster out, quickly pulling out the box of chocolate chip waffles from the freezer. A wide smile spread on the four year old's face as her father put four waffles in the toaster, getting out two paper plates.

"We going to the shop today?" she kicked her feet back and forth, occasionally letting her heels bounce off the cabinets.

"Yes, after we watch cartoons. Just like always, Princess." Rupert smiled, grabbing an apple from the fridge.

The family spent their Saturdays the same; Nathan and Addison would wake up their father at 9 o'clock, Rupert would make chocolate chip waffles for his children, the three of them would watch cartoons until 11 o'clock and then they would head out to the bookstore so Rupert could get in a few hours of work. As much as he enjoyed taking the kids to work with him, Nathan and Addison enjoyed going with him a little bit more. And he knew that it was employees that made his children enjoy spending their time at the bookstore.

"Done!" Addison cheered as the waffles popped up, prompting Rupert to set about getting the kids' breakfast ready.

He places two waffles on each paper plate, cutting up the waffles and pouring a little bit of syrup on them and picked up his daughter to set her on the floor. He handed her the plates and watched as she made her way back to the living room, setting the plates on the coffee table and sitting in front of her plate. Rupert poured one glass of milk, one glass of orange juice and a glass of apple juice before going back to the living room, handing each of the siblings a fork as he sat on the floor in between them.

"'Anks, 'Addy!" Nathan said as he shoved a forkful of waffle into his mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouthful, Nathan." Rupert corrected as Addison crawled into his lap, pulling her plate towards her.

"That's icky, Nafan!"

Nathan stuck his tongue out, showing off the chewed up waffle bite. Despite himself, Rupert let out a small chuckle at the six year old's actions and laughed harder when Addison jabbed at his plate and ate the small piece of waffle she had snatched.

"Addie! That was mine!"

Addison just grinned at her older brother and went back to eating her breakfast. With a grumble about his "annoying baby sister", Nathan finished off his plate and watched as the Roadrunner ran through the painted tunnel. Rupert just placed a kiss on his daughter's head and ruffled his son's hair.

* * *

"Daddy, that's Miss Summers!" Nathan exclaimed as a petite blonde walked down the driveway next to their house. "Miss Summers!"

The blonde looked over at the sound of her name and gave the six year old a smile when she saw him, walking over as Nathan dragged his father over by the hand.

"Hi, Miss Summers." He beamed, turning his gaze back to father. "That's Miss Summers, Daddy."

"I heard you the first time, Rabbit." Rupert chuckled as he looked back at the woman his son had been talking about for the past month. "This isn't entirely how I pictured meeting my son's new teacher."

"Trust me, I didn't plan on moving next door to one of my students." She replied, offering her hand. "Buffy Summers."

"Rupert Giles," he shook her offered hand, bettering his hold on Addison as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Addison, say hello to Nathan's teacher."

"Hi, Addison." The four year old gave a small wave to the blonde before making it known that she wanted to be let down, running into the front yard with Nathan. "I'm assuming Nathan has told you all about me,"

"Any time he mentions school, you are the sole subject of the conversation." Rupert replied, glancing over to watch Nathan chase Addison around the front yard. "I felt as though I had already met you with as much as he talks about you,"

"I feel the same." Buffy laughed. "He thinks the world of you, that much I've picked up from the times I've talked to him."

"I would imagine so. I have to ask, why are you a teacher?" his gaze focused on her. "You're a best selling author, and you're not even thirty yet. So why become a teacher?"

"You realized who I was, huh?" she shook her head as she looked at the sidewalk, a smile on her face.

"I own a book store," Rupert explained, his hands diving into the pockets of his jeans. "Of course I'm going to notice."

"I like kids. And since I don't see myself ever being a mother, being a teacher is the next best thing."

He waned to ask her what she meant, but there was something about her tone that told him the subject was closed. So he decided to ask her about how she got into writing instead.

"I took creative writing my first year in college, my professor loved one of my short stories and encouraged me to try and turn it into a novel." The blonde answered. "Next thing I know, my professor is wanting to send it to her friend- who happened to be a publisher- and halfway through my second year at college, it was published. And then last year my second book came out, and now I'm working on the third one."

"Anymore planned after that?"

"No, the next one is the last one." Buffy said, giving him a small smile. "I don't want my books to turn into another cheap vampire saga."

"Even though you have more than just vampires in your books?"

The look she gave him was enough to say she wasn't used men openly admitting they had read her work. Her surprise grew even more when he just grinned at her.

"The occult and all things pertaining to it interest me," was all he offered as an explanation.

"Weird interest," she mumbled, only to laugh at his expression. "I know, says the one who writes about that kind of stuff. Anyways, you were on your way out and I shouldn't keep you from your plans. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Giles."

"Please, call me Rupert. And it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Summers."

"If I'm gonna call you by your first name, you have to do that same." They shared a smile before Rupert nodded his head in agreement. "I'll see you around, Rupert."

"Of course," he began to walk towards his children when a sudden idea made him stop. "Buffy,"

"Yeah?" she turned around to look at him.

"How would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?" he could feel the blush creep up his face at her raised eyebrow. "I mean, as a way to um…s-s-say welcome to the uh…neighborhood?"

Rupert winced at the lack of confidence in his voice, wishing he could take back what he had just said.

"You can knock on my door at seven,"

He just nodded and turned to make his way back to Nathan and Addison, running after the four year old and scooping her up in his arms.

"Daddy!" she giggled, her arms wrapping around his neck as he dashed for the car with Nathan chasing after them.

"C'mon you two," he placed Addison in the back seat, Nathan scrambling over to the other side of the car and sliding in next to his sister.

"We going to the shop now?" the six year old asked.

"Yes," Rupert answered as he climbed into the driver's side, making sure Nathan and Addison were buckled in before starting the car and driving towards his store.

As he listened to the chatter in the back seat, his brain was thinking of ways to get Chris and Blake to watch his kids for him. And knowing Chris, that was going to require Rupert telling him why he needed the kids watched.

He was in for a long day at the store.


	3. Crush

**A/N- **Now that I've updated this, let's find out more about everyone's favorite Watcher (or non Watcher in this story) and how his dinner goes with Buffy. I'm not entirely sure how much I like this chapter, but I honestly couldn't think of any other way to write this. Anyways, my next update will be for my other B/G story. Enjoy!

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**Crush**

"Look who decided to show up!" a voice called from the upper level yelled down as Rupert walked into the store, Nathan and Addison following close behind. "You are so lucky we aren't busy Saturday mornings, buddy."

"If it bothers you that much Chris, you can always leave." The older man smirked at the dark haired man whose head popped over the rail. "Anyways, it's my bloody store and I'll come in when I want."

"You know what, I'm done talking to you." Chris remarked before making his way to the lower level. "Hey munchkins!"

"Chris!" the siblings greeted, running to give the young man a big hug.

Rupert smiled at the sight before him. He had only known the 25 year old man for three years, but Rupert treated Chris as if he was his own son; which worked out for Chris considering his family had disowned him when he had finally told them he was gay. Nathan and Addison adored Chris- Nathan even called him his older brother whenever he talked about Chris- and Chris cherished them. The Englishman had found it incredible how easily he had formed an extended family- that included Chris, his boyfriend Blake and Rupert's other employee Jess- in the short time he had lived in Spring, and he was thankful for the three young adults in his life and the help they provided.

"Daddy met my teacher!" Rupert tuned in just time to hear Nathan fill Chris in on that morning's events.

"It's Saturday though," Chris raised an eyebrow in confusion as he picked up Addison, Nathan sitting at the large table in the middle of the shop.

"She happens to live next door," Rupert went behind the counter and began looking over a few things that were left on the counter for him. "The one that's been on the market for a year,"

The young man screwed up his face in thought before nodding his head when he remembered the house his employer was referring to. He set the four year old down and restocked the bookshelves near the front, talking with Nathan and Addison as he did his job. A smile tugged at Rupert's mouth as he listened to his children fight for Chris' attention, the 25 year old trying his best to keep up with both conversations.

"That's enough, you two." He spoke up, taking pity on his employee. "Chris, did you have anything planned this evening?"

"Rupert, we've discussed this." The young man sighed as he turned to face him, a smile on both of their faces. "I'm flattered, really. But I'm with Blake and I just can't leave him for you. No matter how gorgeous you are,"

"You break my heart, Christopher." Rupert put on a wounded expression as he placed his hand over his heart. "But I do need you and Blake to watch them tonight,"

"Going away, Daddy?" Addison asked as she walked over to him.

"No, Princess." He assured her, lifting her up on to the counter. "I'm just having dinner with a friend,"

"I knew it! I told Blake and Jess that you had a new honey," Chris exclaimed as he gave a little jump of joy. "Who is she? Where did you meet? I want details, damn it!"

"Chris said a bad word," Nathan pointed out as he glared at the young man.

"Bad word," Addison whispered, shaking her head at Chris.

"Yes, he did say a bad word." Rupert agreed, chuckling in amusement. "I'm going to tell you anything, Chris."

"Why not? Blake is your wingman, and I'm your girlfriend."

"Pardon?" he stared at his friend, putting his daughter down when she began to squirm.

"You know," Chris waved his hands around as he thought about how to explain himself. "You tell me all about your latest honey and how the dates go…smoochies."

The Englishman laughed at the explanation.

"I see," he took a few deeps breaths to compose himself. "I hate to tell you, it's not a date. It's just a friendly dinner, nothing more. And if it were a date, I wouldn't tell you about the um…smoochies."

"You bitch!"

"Bad, Chris!" Addison scolded, shaking her head disapprovingly at him.

"You aren't allowed to say those words." The six year old glared, grinning when his father smiled approvingly.

At the disbelief on Chris' face, Rupert bent over as a fit of giggles washed over him. His laugh attack sparked laughter from the others and it took a few minutes for them calm down.

"We'll be at your house at 6:30," Chris said as he walked towards the back of the shop. "And when this 'friendly dinner' turns into something more, I want to be the first to know."

"What makes you so sure something will come out of this?" Rupert walked over to the center table and lay out the crayons and coloring books for Nathan and Addison.

"You're gorgeous, British, charming, sexy, a single dad…do I really need to go on?" the dark haired man looked at his employer over his shoulder. "You are a complete package that men and women want. It's just hard to believe you've been single for this long,"

"I chose to be single, thank you very much." Addison tugged on her father's hand to try and get him to color with her and her brother. "It's just easier that way, Chris. You know that,"

Without another word, Rupert sat in between his children and set about coloring the page his daughter had given him.

* * *

"And he just stood there with the biggest grin on his face as he denied eating the cake," Rupert and Buffy leaned back in their chairs as they tried to keep the laughter down. "Addie was furious that Nathan had eaten her cake."

They had end up going to the local Tex-Mex restaurant Gringos for their dinner, and had talked about this and that while they waited for their food to arrive. Rupert had learned that Buffy had graduated from college a year early- allowing her to become a teacher at the age of 22- with a degree in English when he told her about graduating from Oxford with degrees in History and Archeology.

"A Doctorate and a Masters?" Buffy boggled, dipping a chip into the green sauce. "That's insane, Rupert. You must have been the perfect kid growing up, huh?"

"Actually," he gave a sheepish smile, taking a sip of his Root Beer as a way of stalling. "There was a period where I was possibly the worse son ever, and it seemed to get worse as I got older."

"What happened?" her eyes grew wide as soon as the words were spoken. "Wow, I am so sorry. Could I get anymore tactless? You don't have to answer that,"

"No, it's fine. I've actually accepted that phase in my life," he gave her a small smile before eating the chip in his hand. "When I was fourteen, I began to rebel against my parents. It started off as small, juvenile things but by the time I was twenty-one, I had dropped out of college and found myself involved with the worse people I could find. For three years I was living on the streets with these friends, not caring if we were breaking the law and completely hopped up on drugs and booze. It was, literally, rock bottom."

"What made you change your mind?"

They paused their conversation when their food arrived, extending the brief silence to take a few bites of their dinner.

"I watched my friend die," Rupert softly replied, his eyes focused on his plate. "Things got out of control one night, and we ended up killing Randal. Well, our actions led to the situation of either kill or be killed. After that, I left without saying a word when the rest were asleep and spent the next three months kicking my drug habits and making my way back to parents' home.

"My father's company got me back into Oxford, and after I graduated I travelled the world for nearly four years." He chanced a glance at her and found understanding on her face. "I came back when I was thirty-one, got a job at a museum- thanks to my father's company, again- and met my ex-wife. The rest is relatively simple to figure out,"

"Wow, and here I thought my past was rocky." Buffy gave a half-hearted giggle in case she offended him, but the smile he gave assured her that everything was fine. "All I can say is that my parents divorced when I was fifteen, I was expelled from my high school in L.A. which caused me and my mom to move to Sunnydale and a few more things happened that I doubt you would believe."

From there, the two discovered they had more in common then they had thought. Both knew of the difficulties to do something that they had no interest in, Buffy being vague about what it was that she had left behind; although she had told him, even in Texas, she was having to do what it was she had left, but it wasn't as frequent as it had been.

"So what was it that you did in Sunnydale?" he thanks the waiter as another glass of Root Beer was placed on the table, the empty being picked up.

"It's complicated," Buffy waved her hand, hoping to brush off that conversation. "Why do you find the occult and all that interesting?"

"It's, at the risk of sounding like a freak, fascinating." Rupert grinned, running his fingers through his slightly mused hair. "Knowing the origins, myths, folklore and everything else about the creatures that make the dark so terrifying, it's…."

"Fascinating?" they both chuckled as the blonde finished his sentence, Buffy pushing her nearly empty plate away from her. "I have a friend who's like that. I guess you could say Wes inspired the subjects of my books, although the others helped in their own way."

"I would imagine so," he nodded his head in agreement, signaling for the check. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say certain characters were based on your friends?"

"Nailed it," she finished off her water before reaching into her purse to pull out her wallet.

"No, I've got it." His credit card was out and handed to the waiter before she could blink. "I asked you out to dinner, I'm going to pay."

"Is this some subtle way of calling this a date, Rupert?" Buffy teased, giggling at the blush that crept up Rupert's cheeks.

"It's merely assuring that you pay next time," he remarked with a cheeky grin.

"You seem pretty sure there's gonna be a next time," they gathered their things and left the restaurant, heading towards his car. "Maybe tonight was completely horrible and I never wanna see you again?"

He didn't say anything, just chuckled and opened the passenger door for her. On the drive back to their neighborhood, they talked about her family- her mother had passed away last year and the only family she had left were her friends Willow, Xander, Wesley and Faith- and about his family, which led to a brief conversation about death when Rupert had mentioned that both his parents had died four years ago.

"So we don't end tonight on a depressing note," Buffy said as they pulled up to his driveway. "I did enjoy tonight."

"As did I," they walked to the middle of the sidewalk in between their houses, a shy smile pulling at the corner of Rupert's mouth.

"It isn't exactly how I pictured meeting the parent of one of my students," Buffy pushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I think you definitely earned another chance to hang out with me as your neighbor."

"I'm glad to hear I passed," his remark caused both of the to laugh for a few seconds. "Goodnight, Buffy."

"Night, Rupert."

He slowly made his way back to his house, making sure to stay outside until she had entered her house. After all, he wasn't sure what force of darkness was prowling the neighborhood at that hour. A grin overcame him as he entered his home, already picturing the conversation he was going to have with Blake and Chris.


	4. Sparks

**Sparks**

"So Chris tells me you have a new honey," Rupert looked up from the papers in his hand to see a grinning dark haired young woman. "How come I wasn't informed of this?"

"Because there is nothing to inform you about, Jess." He replied, giving the papers one more glance before putting them behind the front counter. "And you should know better than to trust Chris when it comes to my personal life,"

He chuckled at the look she gave him as he made his way to the back room, looking into the room to make sure Addison was still taking a nap.

"You've been out to dinner with the same person at least three times a week in the last month," she followed him, determined to figure out what was going on with her employer. "That makes this person your new honey."

"First of all, stop saying 'person' like you don't know if it's a man or woman; I haven't been with a man since I was twenty-four, and I have no desire to be with a man anymore." Rupert corrected, hiding his smirk at the expression on Jess' face. "Second of all, I can go to dinner with the same woman and not be dating her."

She opened her mouth to reply, but closed it as soon as the bell above the door went off. They both looked to the front in time to see Nathan run through the doorway and towards his father, Chris right behind him. Rupert knelt down and wrapped his arms around the six year old, standing up once he was sure he had a good grip on his son.

"How was school?" he asked.

"It was good!" He squirmed as he tried to get back to the floor, giving Jess a quick hug before running to the table in the front so he could start his homework.

"I don't work here so you can treat me like a taxi for your kids," Chris complained as he leaned against the front counter, glaring at Rupert. "Jess and I are perfectly capable of watching Addie while she sleeps, you know."

Rupert just shook his head and walked over to his son, sitting next to Nathan and helping him when he asked for it. Jess walked over to Chris and leaned against him before lightly punching him in the stomach.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed as he shoved Jess away.

"Daddy….Chris said a bad word. Again." Nathan sent a glare back to Chris.

"Chris, don't use that type of language." The older man chuckled as he looked over at his employees, who were currently shoving and slapping each other. "And if you both don't knock that off…"

"You got in trouble!" Nathan giggled before going back to his homework, his gaze darting to the shop's front windows every now and then.

"We don't get in trouble, Nathan." Chris said as he trudged to the back room, muttering about checking on Addison.

Jess rolled her eyes and went to the second floor to shelve the stack of books she had placed up there earlier. Rupert watched his son do his homework, helping when he needed to and noticing the six year old repeatedly look out the fro t window.

"Who are you looking for, Rabbit?" he asked after the tenth time Nathan looked out the window in the same minute.

"She promised she would come by today," his tone was distracted as he stood up on his chair, craning his neck as he searched for the mystery person.

"Who said they were coming?" Chris questioned as he walked back to the front, going behind the counter and leaning over the surface.

"Miss Summers." Nathan looked at the young man like it should have been obvious. "She said she would come by and see the shop so she could meet you guys,"

"Are we finally meeting Nate's girlfriend?" Jess giggled as she looked over the railing, making a face at the boy when he stuck his tongue out at her.

"She's not my girlfriend! Girls are icky," he mumbled as he sat back down, finishing his homework.

Rupert shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. About two weeks ago, his employees had begun teasing Nathan about the small crush he had on the teacher and, as horrible as it seemed, Rupert enjoyed the teasing his son was receiving from his surrogate siblings.

"Besides, she's…" his eyes grew wide as he stared at Nathan.

"She's here." Rupert cut in, turning his son to look out the window as the blond approached the shop.

"Miss Summers!" the six year old jumped up, nearly falling out of his chair as he did so.

Rupert kept his gaze away from Chris and Jess, knowing the curious looks they wore due to Nathan's unfinished statement. But if they were going to say anything about it, they never got the chance as Nathan excitedly introduced them to his teacher.

"This is my brother and sister, Chris and Jess." He beamed. "'Cept, they aren't really my brother and sister."

Rupert shook his head in amusement as he listened to his son, keeping his eyes on the nearly completed homework.

"Buffy Summers," he heard her say as he finally stood up and watched as the three adults shook hands. "Hey, Rupert."

"Hello, Buffy." He smiled before making a gesture to let Nathan know that he needed to finish his work, much to the boy's nerves. "What brings you here?"

"I thought I'd stop by and see if you were telling the truth when you said you carry my books," she answered before looking around the building. "I thought you said there was one more to your extended family."

"There is,' Chris jumped in, smiling shyly. "Blake has an art opening tonight, but his friend can't make it since she's going out of town. So he's giving her a VIP sneak peak,"

"So he's an artist?" Buffy asked turning to look back at the other two.

"Yeah, but he's not like those big names you hear about." Chris explained.

"Blake's more into urban art, and he somehow manages to enough to have this be his career. Not that he's not good, because he is." Jess added before giving her boss a look. "But you didn't come here to listen to us talk about Chris' boyfriend. We should let the boss show you where your books should be,"

Rupert caught the look Jess and Chris shared, sending them a glare as he began to led Buffy up to the next level.

"Can I come with?" the six year old chirped, moving to sit on his knees in the chair.

"Have you finished your homework?" his father asked.

"No," he tried to imitate his sister's pout, but only succeed in making his father chuckle.

"Finish your homework, but don't rush through it Nathan."

When the first grader nodded in agreement, the two adults made their way up the small stairs and back towards the Horror/Sci-Fi section was. After explaining that he was currently waiting for the new shipment to come in, he saw the smug smirk on Buffy's face at seeing only a handful of copies of her book. They moved their conversation to the small sitting area in one of the corners.

"You're girlfriend's pretty cute, Nate." Chris' voice floated up from the shop front, quickly followed by Jess giggling and Nathan grumbling.

"Nathan seems to have um…a crush on you," Rupert explained when Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" Buffy asked, a smile on her lips.

"It seems to be," he leaned back in the armchair as he rubbed the side of his neck. "At least he has good taste when it comes to women."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a blush crept up his neck. Had it been six years ago, he was sure he would be polishing the glasses that he no longer wore- opting for contact lenses once Nathan was born. So instead, Rupert ran his hand throw his hair while drumming his fingers against his thigh. When he looked at his son's teacher, the small smile on her face caused him to chuckle nervously.

"If this is your way of flirting, it seriously needs some work." Buffy laughed as his skin reddened even more. "Otherwise, you will never keep a girlfriend."

"P…p…pardon?" he asked, wincing at the stutter.

"Normally when you compliment someone like that, you don't act like you regret it." She dropped her voice in a mock whisper, pretending she was letting him in on a secret. "I think we're to the point where you can openly flirt and not expect me to run away."

"Yes, well…" he gave her a shy smile before clearing his throat, hoping to gain control of his nerves. "I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight because Blake always invites me to his art shows, and I normally have no one to go with. So I was, um…hoping that you would accompany me."

The petite blonde tilted her head in thought, leaning back in the armchair she occupied. The longer it took to answer her, the more Rupert wanted to take back the invitation. While they had gone to dinner several times in the past month, this was by far the most obvious thing resembling a date.

"Throw in dinner and I'm game," The grin on her face grew at the surprise on his face. "What time is the art show?"

"It's at eight," he managed to say through the shock; although part of him wasn't entirely sure why he was shocked.

"I'll be ready at six, that way we can grab a bite to eat before." Rupert couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face, the boyish expression causing Buffy to roll her eyes. "If I'm gonna be ready in time, I need to leave now."

"Of course," they both stood up before Buffy made her way over to Rupert. "I'll see you in two hours. Roughly,"

"See you at six," with no sign of hesitation, she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

The Englishman stood there as he watched the young woman make her way to the lower level, saying goodbye to Nathan on her way out. It took him a few moments before he made his way down to the others.

"Daddy!" he let out a soft grunt as Addison threw herself at his knees, giggling as he picked her up.

"Did you have a good nap?" Rupert walked over to the table Nathan was still doing his homework at, sitting down next to the six year old. "How is your homework coming along, Nathan?"

"Yep!"

"Good!"

The siblings giggled when they answered at the same time. As Nathan did his homework, he did his best to explain what he was doing to his baby sister while Rupert stood up- placing Addison in the chair- and walked over to Jess and Chris.

"Can either one of you babysit tonight?" he knew exactly what was running through their minds, and he just shook his head.

"Still wanna tell us that you don't have a new honey?" Chris raised an eyebrow while Jess crossed her arms over her chest.

"Shut up," Rupert shook his head, a small smile on his face as he walked away. "I'll expect one of you at the house before six!"

Chris just looked at Jess and smirked.


	5. The Only Exception

**The Only Exception**

"I feel underdressed for this," Buffy muttered as she slid into the booth across from Rupert.

They had ended up going to a small diner 15 minutes away from where Blake's art show was being held, Rupert assuring Buffy that the diner was one of the best places he had eaten at. They ordered their drinks and began looking over the menu, Buffy quickly deciding on what she was going to order.

"You're not underdressed, Buffy." Rupert chuckled as he continued to look over the menu. "I told you, Blake's art shows are very much relaxed. Unless he specifics otherwise, all his shows are casual formal- as he calls it."

"I just feel like I could've done better than a nice blouse and jeans." She explained, taking a sip of her Sprite. "I mean, look at you!"

"Yes because jeans and a button down shirt are so much classier," he smirked as he closed the menu, knowing what he was going to get. "You look fine, I promise. No one is going to think you're underdressed,"

He reached out and placed his hand on top of hers, giving her a smile as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. When she smiled back, he didn't remove his hand- something that didn't go unnoticed by Buffy- until the waiter came by to take down their orders.

"Thank you," Rupert said as he handed their menus to the waiter, raising an eyebrow when he saw Buffy's expression.

"Oh my God," Buffy gasped as she continued to stare at him.

"What?" he began to feel uncomfortable with the way she was staring at him.

"You have an earring." Rupert was fairly certain that her statement was meant at as a question.

"Y-y-yes…it um, was the thing to do…as a rebelling teenager." He stuttered, a blush creeping up his face.

"And you still wear it?" Buffy asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"I…I don't have to," he started to take out the diamond stud in his left ear when a hand wrapped around his wrist, stopping his hand's movement.

"I wasn't saying that to make you take it out, I just didn't expect it." Buffy gently pulled his hand away from his ear, giggling at his blush. "It looks good, Rupert. It adds a certain…appeal to you."

Rupert's face turned a brighter shade of red at the comment, causing the teacher to smile. When the tips of her fingers began to absently stroke the top of his wrist, Rupert realized that her hand was still resting on his- and seemed to be in no hurry to remove her hand. Buffy just gave him a smile and only removed her hand once their food arrived.

Sharing another smile, the two launched into another conversation as they ate their dinner.

* * *

"Looks like Papa Giles made it after all!"

Rupert and Buffy looked away from the painting to see a sandy blonde walking towards them, a goofy grin on his face.

"Don't call me that," Rupert sighed as he was enveloped in a quick hug.

"But it's so true," the man argued. "You have two kids, plus you're kick ass extended family of three adults. Be a dad of, basically, five makes you Papa Giles."

"He has a point," Buffy giggled, rolling her eyes at the glare Rupert sent her.

"And you a brought a date! Blake Waters,"

"Buffy Summers," she shook the hand he held out, smiling at the expression on his face.

"So you're Nathan's teacher," Blake laughed. "He wasn't kidding when he said you were pretty."

Rupert shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. He glanced up when he felt Buffy's eyes on him, giving her a shy smile.

"I told you, he has a crush on you." He shrugged a shoulder.

"Seems like he ain't the only one in the family who has a crush on you either," Blake smirked, ducking as Rupert made to smack the back of his head. "I just speak truth!"

Rupert just rolled his eyes as Buffy laughed at the display while Blake continued to tease the older man. The three of them spent the next ten minutes talking about this and that until Rupert looked at the time, excusing himself as he left the building.

"Does he normally just leave his dates like that?" the blonde asked as she watched him leave.

"No, but he usually doesn't bring anyone with him." Blake explained as he leaned against the wall, giving a small wave to a passer by. "He's calling his kids. It's nine o'clock, so he's calling to tell them goodnight."

"He lets his six and four year old stay up until nine?"

"Only on Fridays," the artist replied. "Friday's movie night, so Nate and Addie get to stay up a little later. Nathan usually stays up, but Addie falls asleep around eight. Anyways…how long have you and Rupert been dating?"

"Oh, no. We're not…" Buffy began before trailing off at the look on Blake's face.

"But you want to, right?" he just grinned at the telling look on the teacher's face. "He does too. Rupert wouldn't keep having dinner with you and take you here if he didn't wanna date you, but there have been…"

"Complications. Yeah, he told me."

"He told you?" Blake gawked.

"He didn't tell me what they were, he just said that there were complications that kept him from dating."

Blake nodded his head before starting another conversation, not wanting to leave Buffy by herself. The two talked for another twenty minutes, both noticing that Rupert had yet to return. Buffy tilted her head to the right as she looked a small painting before turning to Blake, a question in her eyes.

"Nathan wanted me to paint him something involving monsters," he explained. "So, I did."

"Yes, because my six year old son needs more encouragement to have interests that terrify him." Buffy and Blake turned around to see Rupert standing behind them, a bruise forming on his jaw and dust on the front of his shirt. "I ran into some trouble,"

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked as she walked over to him, looking at the quickly swelling bruise.

"I've had worse," he assured her, catching Blake's eyes as he subtly nodded his head.

"What happened?" Blake asked, brushing off some of the dust that was on Rupert's shoulder.

"I was about to come back in when I noticed someone being…mugged." He thanked Blake for his help before looking at the blonde in front of him, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Unfortunately, the mugger ran off."

"Since you're okay, and I'm clearly not needed anymore, glad you could make it." Blake chuckled as he began to walk to the other side of the room. "It was nice meeting you, Buffy."

"You too, Blake." Buffy smiled as they waved to Blake. "Are you sure you're okay? That bruise looks pretty nasty,"

"Buffy, I'm fine. I'm more worried about what Blake said to you than the condition of my jaw," he smirked.

Buffy just rolled her eyes at the comment before walking over to another painting, smiling as Rupert began explaining how that particular painting came to life.

* * *

After they had left Blake's art show, they had gotten ice and drove over to the elementary school- where they were currently leaning against the half brick wall by the bike rack. Buffy had perched up on the wall so she was eye level with Rupert, who was currently focusing on the waffle bowl full of New York cheesecake ice cream.

"So this is how you end a date with me?" she giggled when his shot up, the growing blush made visible by the dim street light.

"This isn't…I don't want you to…" Rupert sighed when he couldn't get out what he wanted to say, which only made Buffy laugh.

"You don't think this is a date?" she raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at her mouth. "You took me out to dinner, then to a really nice activity and then we got ice cream- that adds up to being a date in my book."

"Well…it seems that way, but um…" his focused his gaze on his almost finished ice cream, willing his stutter to just leave him alone for once. "I don't want you to…to feel like you have to…"

His sentence was cut short as he felt lips press into his, causing him to nearly drop his ice cream as he kissed her back. She pulled back after a moment and looked at him, her bottom lip held between her teeth as a worried expression washed over her face. Rupert just stared at her, his ice cream sat forgotten on the brick wall, and tried to process what had just happened.

"I know you had told me that you don't date because of 'complications', but…" Buffy trailed off as she thought about how she wanted to word what was in her brain. "I have complications too, and they've kept me from dating. And even though it's only been a little over a month, I think you're the kinda guy who won't just run if my complications came up."

He just continued to stare at her, not entirely sure how to respond. It took him a few seconds to realize that she had continued talking and he forced himself to tune back in.

"And I'm pretty sure you want to be more than friends too. Unless you just flirt like that all time, and if that's the case then can you forgot the past few minutes happened?" she was rambling, and Rupert couldn't help but find it adorable. "Because you're a great friend, so far anyways, and I wouldn't want things to be awkward. Especially since I'm Nathan's teacher and…"

This time it was his turn to cut her off with a kiss, inwardly smiling when she returned the kiss. He was suddenly very glad that she had finished her ice cream cone a few minutes after they had arrived at the school when her arms wrapped around his neck, effectively pulling him closer.

"I take it you want to date me, then?" the teacher smirked once he pulled back.

"Oh no, I just felt like taking complete advantage of the fact that you want to date me."

Buffy gently shoved him, muttering something similar to "smart ass". Rupert just rolled his eyes and kissed her again.


	6. Monster

**Monster**

"Nathan, it's dinner time!" Rupert called as he placed Addison's plate in front of her, placing a kiss on the top of her before walking back into the living room. "Nathan,"

"Hold on, Daddy!" Nathan said as he sat on the edge, his eyes glued to the television. "Five minutes!"

"No, now." He crossed his arms as he watched his son make no move to leave the couch. "Nathan Oliver, go sit at the table."

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he continued to be ignored by the six year old. Rupert looked over his shoulder and shook his head when he noticed his daughter giggling, knowing her brother was about to get in trouble.

"You have until three to get to the table, otherwise you will not be allowed to watch television before dinner." Nathan's head snapped to look at his face, a look of fear on his face. "One…"

"No, Daddy! I'm going, see?" he bolted for the dinner table, glaring at his sister as he sat across from her. "It's not funny, Addie!"

"Nafan's in trouble," she giggled just as Rupert sat down.

Nathan just made a face before starting to eat his dinner. Rupert ate in silence for a while, content to listen to his children tease each other as he worked out a way to tell them he was dating. It had been a few weeks since he had started dating Buffy, and he felt it was time to tell Nathan and Addison.

"You okay, Daddy?" Addison asked once she noticed how quite her father was being.

"I'm fine, Princess." He reassured her, taking a quick drink of his water before continuing. "There is something that I have to tell you two, though."

He waited until he had their attention, which gave him time to think about how he was going to word everything. Finally deciding on how to tell them, Rupert gave them each a smile just as he started talking.

"Remember how I've been going to dinner with Nathan's teacher a lot?" both of the children nodded. "Well, sometimes when two friends like each other…they date, which is what Ms. Summers and I are doing. And…"

"So you're her boyfriend?" Nathan interrupted, cocking his head to the side.

"Yes, Nathan. I'm her boyfriend," he answered, catching the flash of hurt in his green eyes.

"She gonna be our Mummy?" Addison asked with a grin that seemed too big for her face.

"It's a bit too early for that, Addie." Rupert chuckled at the pure excitement on her face. "However, if either of you don't want me to date her you just have to tell me. Over everything else, I want you two to be happy and me dating someone makes you unhappy, just let me know. Okay?"

They both nodded before going back to eating their dinner. While Addison seemed unfazed by the news, Nathan was affected in some way.

"Nathan, do you wanna help me with the dishes?" Rupert asked once everyone was finished.

"'Kay." He agreed as he began taking his plate to the kitchen.

Addison ran off to the living room while Rupert brought the rest of the dishes to the sink, handing a towel to the six year old so he could dry the dishes. A few minutes of silence passed between them.

"What's the matter, Nathan?" he finally asked, a frown forming at his son's unusual quite. "Do you not want me to date your teacher?"

"No, it's just…" he heaved a deep sigh before looking up at his father. "I liked her first,"

Trying his best to hold back the grin that was threatening to surface, Rupert kneeled in front of Nathan and gently placed one hand on his shoulder. "I know you did, Nathan. I didn't plan on liking her, but sometimes things happen that we don't plan for."

"Promise you didn't do it on purpose?" he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his father, which made Rupert want to grin even more.

"I promise," he smiled softly at Nathan. "But if you don't want me to be her boyfriend, I won't."

"If you hurt her, you're in big trouble Daddy."

"I don't doubt it," Rupert chuckled as he pulled the boy into a hug, kissing his temple. "And besides, don't girls have cooties?"

"Ms. Summers isn't a girl, she's a lady." Nathan stepped away and looked at his father like he had just asked the stupidest question ever. "Silly, Daddy."

"Go watch TV with your sister before it's time to get ready for bed,"

The six year old nodded his head, running out of the kitchen before his father changed his mind. Rupert just shook his head as he chuckled before going back to finishing the dishes.

* * *

"Daddy!"

Rupert shot up in his bed at the sound of his daughter screaming his name, panic rising when he recognized the pure terror in her voice. He didn't hesitate in jumping out of bed and running straight to Addison's room.

"Daddy!" she cried, her body completely covered by the comforter.

Rupert rushed over to the bed, kneeling on the floor as he gently pulled the comforter away from the four year old. His heart broke when he saw the tears streaking down her face.

"It's alright, sweetheart." He whispered as he pulled her into his arms. "It's alright,"

"Scary man," she muttered as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"What was that?" he pulled back, wiping the slowing tears from her face before smoothing back her hair.

"Scary man with a bumpy face," Addison sniffled, her thumb finding its way to her mouth. "At my window."

He turned to look at the window, nervously licking his lips before making his way to the window. Rupert stood there long enough to make sure no one was outside before going back to his whimpering daughter, kneeling on the floor.

"It was just a dream, Addie." He assured her, reaching over to fluff up her pillow. "I'll stay right here until you're asleep…"

"No!" she shook her head and launched herself towards her father, doing her best to hide into his shoulder.

"Do you want to sleep in my room, then?" he didn't wait for her to answer as he got to his feet, holding her close to him as he picked up her stuffed horse. "It was just a scary dream, that's all."

"Nuh-uh! I was up, and he was there." She insisted, cuddling closer to him as he carried her into his bedroom. "He wanted in, but I said no 'cause he's a stranger."

"Good girl," Rupert whispered as he laid her down on the unused side of his bed, tucking her in and kissing her forehead.

After explaining that he was just going to go check on her brother, he made his way back out of his room and towards Nathan's room. If it weren't for the fact that he would have to leave his children alone, Rupert would have gone and done a quick sweep of the neighborhood for this vampire his daughter had seen outside her window. Between the random sighting of a vampire and the vivid dreams of demons Addison would experience, he was beginning to feel like he was still a part of the damn Watcher's Council.

A small smile appeared on his face when he walked into Nathan's room. The six year old was fast asleep on the floor with his feet resting on the edge of his bed, his left arm outstretched while his fingers inches away from his stuffed dinosaur. Rupert shook his head before going to pick Nathan up, settling him under the comforter before picking up the dinosaur. A small laugh escaped him as his son searched for the stuffed animal in his sleep, smiling when his father placed the dinosaur in his arms. After placing a kiss to the top of his head, he made his way back to his room.

The moment he heard Addison whimper in her sleep, he knew it was going to be a long night.

* * *

"I want pancakes," Nathan whined as stood in the middle of the kitchen, glaring up at his father.

"Nathan…" he pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes- he was not in the mood to deal with a stubborn six year old.

"Pancakes!"

"You always have cereal before school,"

Nathan made no move to sit at the table, his arms crossing over the front of his chest. Rupert noticed Addison start to follow her brother, pushing her bowl of cereal slightly away from her. When she began to echo Nathan's demand for pancakes, the single father began to feel the effects of his lack of sleep.

"No one is having pancakes." He spoke over the chanting children, giving both of them the infamous 'Daddy Glare'. "If no one wants cereal, then no one is eating breakfast."

Rupert grabbed an apple from the refrigerator as Nathan sulked into the living room, mumbling under his breath about how unfair things were. When he walked over to take Addison's bowl away, a little hand grabbed at the bowl as she promised she would eat her cereal.

"I'm just putting it in a bag so you can eat it in the car," he explained as he poured the bowl's contents into a plastic bag. "Thank God you don't take milk with your cereal,"

Once he had finished his task, he closed up the bag and handed it to her as he picked her up. It was another five minutes before they made it out to the car, Rupert having to deal with Nathan deciding he wanted to wear a different shirt. In the end, Rupert had convinced his son that his current shirt was just fine.

"Daddy, I'm hungry." Nathan complained a few minutes after they had left the house.

"Then you should have eaten your cereal," Rupert pointed out, glancing at his children through the rearview mirror. "But you decided to not eat instead."

"How come Addie gets to eat? She wanted to pancakes too!"

"Addie decided she wanted to her cereal. Besides, she doesn't have school to go too." He answered, shaking his head at his son's continuous complaining about how hungry he was. "Nathan, complaining isn't going to change anything."

The five minute carried seemed even longer with the silence between the three, the six year old slamming the car door as he got out of the vehicle. Rupert watched him stomp his way into the school, wishing he had handled the breakfast ordeal differently. He shook his head and made his way to the store, holding back a yawn that wanted to rip through him. Seeing Addison sleeping through the rearview mirror just made him realize how long of a day he was in for at the shop.


	7. Look After You

**Look After You**

"You look like hell, Rupert."

"Jess, if you wish to continue being engaged then I suggest you tell your fiancée to keep his bloody mouth shut." Rupert growled as he walked into the shop, holding a sleeping Addison.

"Trevor, don't antagonize my boss." Jess sighed as Rupert walked into the backroom to place his daughter on the couch so she could continue her nap.

"What? All I said was that he looks like hell," the dark haired man protested. "And he does, and you know it!"

The blonde sighed as she shook her head, fearing for her future husband's well being as her boss walked back into the front. "You okay, Rupert?"

"Besides dealing with a very stubborn six year old this morning, I got little to no sleep last night because Addie was…I don't even know if she was dreaming or not." He sighed, sitting down at the table. "She said she saw a vampire outside her window…"

"Then clearly she wasn't dreaming, right?" Trevor asked, looking between his fiancée and the older man.

"Remind me again why I let you be involved with my family?" Rupert glared at the younger man before continuing as if he hadn't been interrupted. "She has so many vivid and accurate dreams about those things that it makes it hard to know when it's real or a dream."

"Well, if they're dreams then that makes her a…what did you say they were called? A slayer? Yeah, that's it! Wouldn't that make her a slayer?"

"Jessica, you have ten seconds to get Trevor out of my sight. Otherwise, I'm not responsible for my what happens," he said as calmly as he could, his hands clenched into fists.

"Trev, why don't you go run some errands before your doctor's appointment?" Jess motioned towards the door.

"Okay," he got to his feet and walked over to the counter, placing a quick kiss on her lips. "Love ya, babe."

"Love you too,"

There was a few minutes silence after Trevor left, which was making Rupert realize just how tired he was. His eyes were starting to close when Jess sat next to him, a look on her face.

"That wasn't called for, you know?" she started as she gently nudged his shoulder, causing him to open his eyes.

"He shouldn't have pissed me off,"

"What crawled up your ass?" Jess asked, staring at her boss.

"I told you," he rubbed his temples as he leaned back in his chair.

"I know that, but you got extra pissy when Trevor mentioned slayers,"

Rupert just turned to glare at her, sighing when Jess rolled her eyes. They sat in silence for a while until Jess noticed the helpless look in her employer's eyes.

"Rupert…" she started, stopping at the heavy sigh that left his lips.

"I don't know what to do," he whispered as his gaze dropped to the table. "Even if Addie isn't a Potential, how am I suppose to protect her from something that hasn't happened yet? I'm supposed to protect her from everything, and I can't even tell her it's a nightmare without hesitating. She did nothing to deserve to have prophetic dreams, or to even have the slight possibility that she could be a Potential.

"I don't know how I'm going to explain things when she's older and realizes that some injuries I get match the ones in her dreams. How do I protect her from herself?" he looked up at Jess, his expression nothing but helplessness.

"I don't know. You aren't exactly a normal family," Jess told him with a small smile. "But you're doing what you can, and given the unique situation I think you're doing the best thing."

"Thank you," a soft smile appeared on his face just before he yawned.

"Why don't you go in the back and take a nap with your daughter?" the blonde cut him off as Rupert opened his mouth to protest the idea. "You know this place is slow in the mornings, and Chris will be here in about an hour. I'll be fine without you. And if I do need you, you're just in the back sleeping."

Rolling his eyes, Rupert pushed to his feet and trudged to the back of the store. A nap actually wasn't such a bad idea.

* * *

Rupert woke to the sound of giggling coming from the front of the store, and a serious kink in his back from sleeping on the small couch. There was an initial panic that settled over him when he noticed Addison was nowhere in sight, but that was soon put to rest when he recognized the giggling belonged to his daughter. There was a small popping in his lower back as he stretched, wincing at the quick pain the sound brought with it before making his way out of the back.

"Daddy!" Addison grinned before running towards her father, giggling when he made a dramatic sound as she flung herself at his knees.

"Looks like Sleeping Beauty is finally up," Chris announced as he finished ringing up a costumer.

"Where's your partner in crime?" he asked as he picked up the four year old, placing a quick kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Jess left about an hour ago since Trevor had a doctor's appointment and he hates the doctors." He replied as he leaned over the counter and waited for Rupert's next question.

"What time is it?" he cocked his head to the side, sitting at the table with his daughter in his lap.

"It's a little past noon," Chris smirked at the response he knew was coming next.

"Why did you let me sleep that late? I don't need our costumers thinking I'm a bloody slacker, Chris."

"Well, Jess told me about the Adventures of Single Dad and I figured you needed the rest." The younger man explained as he flipped through one of the books a costumer had sold them. "This looks like it might be interesting…"

"Do not change the topic, Christopher." He was now standing next to the table, trying to keep his voice down so as not to alarm Addison.

"I did a nice thing for you, Rupert. It's been a while since you've had a good night's sleep and it's starting to show, and we are worried about you." He snapped, glaring at his boss. "You needed the rest, and already you look better than you have in the last six months. Anyways, I have a question to ask you."

Rupert just stared at the younger man a moment longer before making a gesture for him to continue.

"Not saying it's gonna happen anytime soon, but Blake and I were talking about the possibility of adopting and we wanted to know if you'd be the Godfather of our kid." Chris said, a hopeful look on his face.

"You've only been together for two years, Chris. I'm not trying to discourage you, but children add a whole new responsibility…"

"We know, Rupert. I'm not saying that we're trying to adopt now, but we were discussing it as a thing that will happen later in the future." Chris cut him off, laughing at the expression Addison got at the sight of a woman walking her dog by the store. "We just wanted to know if you like to be the Godfather of our future adopted kid,"

"I would be honored, Chris." He smiled, running a hand through his sleep tussled hair.

Chris just gave him a huge grin before jumping over the front counter and hugging Rupert. They parted a few seconds later, Chris laughing at Addison's complaints of being left out of the hug.

"Just make sure you're ready before you two adopt," Rupert told him as he hugged his daughter. "And it's not for another few years. I'm not exactly ready to be a surrogate grandfather,"

Chris just shook his head before going off to restock one of the back shelves.

* * *

"Is this turning out as awful as you thought it would?" Buffy asked as she helped Rupert wash the dishes they had used.

"No, it's going much better than I had thought." He answered, rolling his eyes at the smug smirk she gave him.

Rupert had invited Buffy to his house for dinner, which had been a constant worry for him as soon as she had accepted. His biggest concern wasn't the fact that it was their first date that included his children; his biggest worry was Nathan's behavior since the six year old had coped an attitude during the week. Of course, Rupert should have given his son more credit- Nathan knew what was appropriate behavior in front of guest and what wasn't appropriate.

"What were so worried about anyways?" Buffy's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Nathan," he replied, turning to face her. "He's been being difficult this whole week and I was worried that he would continue with you being here."

"He didn't take the news that we're dating well, did he?"

"He took it well, I just think he's upset with me because, as he put it, he liked you first." They shared a smile before quickly finishing up the dishes. "Anyways, how has your week been?"

"I work with a bunch of six year olds, my weeks are always interesting." Buffy laughed, leaning against the counter.

"Nathan said you were hurt on Wednesday?" concern instantly filled his eyes when she nodded in agreement.

"I had…hurt my wrist. There was slight bruising…" she was cut off as Rupert instantly grabbed her arms, looking at both wrists.

"It doesn't look like you did anything. And there's no bruising," he gave her a confused look.

"I heal fast. And it wasn't that bad of an injury," Buffy explained as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's actually unfair to call it an injury, that's how minor it was."

"But still…" he was cut off as she quickly kissed him.

"I'm fine, Rupert." Buffy smiled at him, kissing him again when he smiled back. "Dinner was great,"

"That's something one typically says when they plan on leaving soon," he pointed out as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Well, I don't wanna impose on your time with Nathan and Addison."

"Buffy, you are more than welcome to stay and watch a movie with us." He assured her, slowly pulling her towards the living room. "They aren't going to mind,"

The more she protested, the more Rupert assured it was fine. The only thing that put her mind to rest was hearing his children ask her to watch the movie with them.

"I told you," Rupert whispered as the movie started, Addison curled up in her lap while Nathan lay across his father's lap.

"Yeah, you did." Buffy laughed.

"Shhhh!" the two siblings shushed as they glared at the two adults.

"You don't talk during movies," Nathan told them.

"No talk." Addison muttered, giving her brother a grin when he gave her a thumbs up.

Rupert looked at Buffy as they both tried to keep their laughter to themselves.

* * *

**A/N- **For the person who reviewed saying that if I killed off Nathan and let Addison live then I would be using a cliche-plot device, where in the world did you get the idea that I was killing someone off?


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